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Gillot axed as Jiangsu denies Shenhua in CFA Cup

By Ma Yue | November 29, 2015, Sunday | Online Edition

SHANGHAI Greenland Shenhua’s hopes of adding a second CFA Cup to its trophy collection were dashed at Hongkou Football Stadium last night after the hosts conceded a goal in extra time of the second leg to lose 0-1 Jiangsu Sainty.

In the aftermath of another trophy-less season, the club also terminated its contract with head coach Francis Gillot after just one year. The Frenchman barely managed to complete the club’s goal of finishing at least sixth in the 2015 Chinese Super League.

The first leg of the CFA Cup in Nanjing last week had ended 0-0. The story was the same in Shanghai, despite Shenhua starting with a strong line-up, with full-time ending goalless.

The match then went into a 30-minute extra play. Jiangsu's Croatian midfielder Sammir scored what turned out to be the winner for the visitors in the 110th minute to stun the home crowd into silence. The victory helped Jiangsu secure a spot in next year’s AFC Champions League, which this season was won by another CSL side, Guangzhou Evergrande.

It was also the first piece of Chinese silverware for its coach, former Romania defender Dan Petrescu, who joined the club earlier this year. 

“It was a difficult match, especially in the opening 20 minutes when our opponent controlled the pace better,” Gillot said at a post-match press conference. “We had a lot of chances, but the last pass and shot is what the players need to work on.”
 
Both sides created good chances especially in the closing minutes of regular time. An overhead bicycle kick by Shenhua’s Senegal striker Demba Ba in the 85th went just over the bar, before another attempt by teammate Cao Yunding sailed wide off the goal.

The winner came 20 minutes into extra time. Sammir broke through Shenhua’s defense from the left wing with the help of teammate Sergio Escudero before shooting the ball past Shenhua goalie Geng Xiaofeng. Gillot made two substitutions immediately, sending on midfielder Lu Zheng and defender Zheng Kaimu, but could not salvage the situation.

“A small mistake in defense cost us the match,” said Gillot. “Jiangsu’s defensive playing style did not leave us much space in their box.”

Escudero was a second-half substitute for Jiangsu. Asked whether his substitutions came too late, Gillot said the better quality of Jiangsu’s domestic players made the visitors’ substitutions more effective.

“Jiangsu has a better bench, and better domestic players who handled the larger part of the match, allowing their manager to send on foreign players later for more impact. Shenhua already knows about the situation (of its domestic players) and there will be changes in the future.”

Though the Frenchman will not witness the changes as a manager, he wished the team good luck and praised his players’ performance over the past season.

“My players deserve the praise for their hard work despite the loss today. The disappointment is obvious, but the team is on the right track,” said Gillot.

Shenhua last won the CFA Cup in 1998. Tickets for yesterday’s match proved to be in great demand, as local fans stood in queue overnight in front of the box office earlier this week. Each person was allowed with only two tickets. A total of 25,332 fans showed up at Hongkou Football Stadium yesterday, some of them in tears at the final whistle.

“It’s quite a pity that Shenhua didn’t get the CFA Cup. They did well for most of the match but obviously luck was not on their side. Maybe that’s football,” said a long-term Shenhua supporter Shen Panda.

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill expressed his gratitude to fans through his Weibo account after the match.

“(I’m) Finding it very hard to put into words my feelings after losing tonight. My heart is broken for my supporters. We had an amazing year and as a club we will always stick together to come back stronger,” he wrote.

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